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Creating a Social Media Strategy for Your Event

You might be asking yourself: Why be social at events in the first place? Don’t I already have enough to do?

Social media can play an important role at any type of event – whether it’s tradeshows or even webinars – and can help you achieve a variety of different goals. For those who are dubious about social media, there are many benefits to creating a social media strategy for your next event. Using a variety of channels, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, your blog and Facebook, you can attract customers to your booth, potentially drive sales, increase interest in what you actually do, and get people talking about your company.

The key point to remember about integrating social media in your event strategy is that it’s not about the technology, but instead about building relationships. Here are some key ways you can integrate social media into your event marketing mix:

Engage and Connect with Audiences

Contrary to popular belief with social media, buzz doesn’t happen on its own! You’ll need to engage and connect with attendees. Here are some ways to make this happen: tweet to the event hashtag asking a question or adding value, post your blog link to the events LinkedIn or Facebook wall and live tweet content from the event (this can include pictures).

Generate Buzz

This can include a variety of different tactics, including: publishing blog posts leading up to the big event with topics related to the event, infographics with images and statistics, and sending out tweets in relation to the event’s hashtag.

Socialize your Social Sites

If this is your own event, then make sure all your social sites are featured prominently on the event website, invitations, event emails and signage. If your audience is aware of your social channels, then they are more likely to engage with your brand on social media!

These are some ideas to help you kickstart your social media event strategy. Are there tips we missed? Share them in the comments below!

Anita is a Digital Marketing Consultant and helps brands develop social media campaigns to expand and extend their reach in online marketing. Most recently she spearheaded the social media strategy and execution for eHealth, Inc. and prior to that, as a Marketing Manager at Fred Meyer Jewelers, she built the social media and online marketing plan for the retail brand. A Seattle native, she …